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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2020)
NEWS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 Hermiston council discusses city hall plans By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR A new city hall for Herm- iston would come with an approximately $9 million price tag if the city council approves the idea this year, city manager Byron Smith told the council on Monday night. The price would include about $700,000 of renova- tions to the basement of the Hermiston Public Library so that city staff could use the space during the 18-month construction period, and the rest of the cost would go toward building a new city hall on the same site as the current one. Preliminary designs show a two-story building with a basement, with each of the three fl oors about 9,200 square feet in size. The municipal court would move into the new build- ing, freeing up space for the police department in its cur- rent building, and would also move the building depart- ment and other staff out of the old Carnegie Library. Marcus Valentine, of Architects West, said the city’s current building at 180 N.E. Gladys Ave., a renovated bank building fi rst built in 1965, is not ideal. The building is split between fi ve levels but does not have an elevator, and its restrooms, council dais, counters and some hallways are not conducive to some- one in a wheelchair. City staff have also outgrown the building, causing them Staff photo by Jade McDowell The Hermiston City Council is considering tearing down the current city hall and building a $9 million replacement on the site. to spread to other buildings, and there are security issues. “It’s clearly defi cient in a lot of respects,” he said. The concept he presented Monday is one that he and Smith said would be much more accessible and more effi cient for city staff. Only two people instead of four would be needed to staff the front counters, for example. There would also be room to grow, and Smith said there was another gov- ernment agency that had already expressed interest in leasing space in the base- ment until the city needed it. Meanwhile, city staff could use the base- ment of the library, which Smith described as “very underutilized.” Valentine said architects had been talking with library staff about what would make the basement more usable, and had been told one of the main problems was that the layout made supervi- sion diffi cult. He proposed a renovation to the basement that would remove or shift many of the walls, making it more ideal for a makeshift city hall, but also creating a space that would be much more usable for the library as a children’s section in the future. “We want to appropri- ately maximize the space,” Valentine said. The city had conducted an online survey about city hall in preparation for the discussion. Smith said they received 202 responses in English and eight responses to the Spanish survey. Fif- ty-six percent of the respon- dents said they came to city hall at least a few times per year. Their top wishes for city hall were disability access, effi ciency and timely access. Smith read several of the written comments left on the survey’s open-ended sec- tion, which gave mixed sup- port. One person said they were fi rmly against a new city hall, as it “adds taxes,” while another said they get jealous when they look at the nicer city halls of Board- man and Umatilla. The city had originally been planning on waiting for a few years to build a new city hall, but a fi re in December has given the city a choice to use its approx- imately $175,000 insur- ance payout to repair the old building knowing it might not stay up much longer, or put it toward a new one. Smith recommended building now. “There’s not going to be a cheaper time to do this,” he said. “We have a very good interest rate environment right now, and construction costs are not going to go down.” He said the city could borrow the money via full faith and credit bonds, with either a 15-, 20- or 30-year payment. The 30-year pay- ment would be $439,000 per year, which Smith said he felt confi dent the city could handle. He said the city could use enterprise zone payments in lieu of taxes from companies such as Lamb Weston, Amazon and a new large project he hopes to present to the council in May. Councilor John Kir- wan said he felt the timing was right to act now, and there was no reason the city couldn’t try to pay off the debt in less than 30 years. “To me, spending that money smartly is to make the investment sooner rather than later, and pull the trig- ger,” he said. Boardman to pursue bond for water and wastewater projects By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The Boardman City Council voted Feb. 4 to ask voters to approve a $20.3 million general obligation bond for water and waste- water projects. According to the resolu- tion passed Tuesday night, the question will go on the May 19 ballot. It will ask voters whether the city shall issue the bonds “to improve and expand its water and wastewater facilities” by issuing bonds not to exceed $20,320,000 that would mature within 25 years. The ballot language to be submitted to the Morrow County clerk describes the projects the money would be used for — a water booster pump station, an approx- imately 1 million gallon water reservoir, a new water collector well, a 13-acre lagoon, and wastewater lift stations. The money would also help pay for acquiring land for the projects, refi - nancing outstanding debt and covering the cost of issuing the bonds. If approved, the aver- age annual property tax rate is estimated at $1.56 per $1,000 of assessed value and the bonds would mature within 25 years. City Manager Karen Pet- tigrew said Thursday that passing the bond will actu- ally save residents money. If the city were to bor- row the money to complete the needed projects from a source, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she said, the agency would require the city to raise its water and sewer rates sig- nifi cantly before it consid- ered making the loan. She said her combined water, sewer and garbage bill is $59.43 right now. “We have chosen to keep our rates low,” she said. The minutes from a Jan. 4 work session show the council listened to a presen- tation by engineering fi rm Anderson Perry & Associ- ates about the benefi ts of the projects, including reli- ability, quality of wastewa- ter treatment and creating room for future growth. It also cited information from David Ulbricht of the Spe- cial Districts Association of Oregon, who told city councilors that paying for the projects through water rates instead of bonds would require the city to raise its base water rate by $60 a month and sewer by $20. Pettigrew said the city will provide detailed infor- mation about the bond to residents in the coming months. A Jan. 28 news release from the city noted that it was “beginning talks” about expanding water and sewer projects. “The expansion will ensure reliability in the city’s water and wastewa- ter systems and improve fi re fl ow,” the release stated. The release also noted the city council had recently extended incentives for developers. The city had previously set in place a temporary waiver for water and sewer system develop- ment charges, and city coun- cilors felt it would be bene- fi cial to extend the waiver, which expired at the end of 2019, for another year. The waivers operate on a sliding scale based on the number of “equivalent dwelling units” a residential or commercial project rep- resents. Developers can call the city at 541-481-9252 for more information. Columbia Works launches summer intern program The Port of Morrow, in partnership with regional industries, has launched the new Columbia Works Summer Internship Program. An industry-led, sum- mer work experience pro- gram, Columbia Works features paid internships, free professional develop- ment training and applica- tion assistance. Prospective interns can choose from a diverse set of opportunities that range from farming and food processing to education, business, information tech- nology, workforce devel- opment and more. “Our goal is to make connections,” Kalie Davis, workforce training man- ager at the Port of Mor- row, said in a statement. “We want to make things as easy as possible for both our industry partners and young adults looking for internship opportunities.” The program is part of the Oregon Works net- work that has seen success in different regions across the state. Columbia Works was established to link regional employers with high school and college students who are looking to gain experience in their prospective career fi eld. “We believe Columbia Works is a great resource to get students the real-world experience and exposure to our industry and to see the potential career path CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS SATURDAY FEB. 22 ND 1PM CLASS Ranch & Home 2500 S Hwy 395, Hermiston ONLY! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who sent cards, food, flowers or donations for HARRY NOBLE and for all that came to his celebration of life. A special thank you to Ken Huber of Burns Mortuary, Marty Campbell, John Wambeke, Tony Lundervold, the Military, Don & Donna Eppenbach, Renate Meakins, the Irrigon Sr. Center & Cowboy Church. With much appreciation to, Dr’s Guy & Jonas Oltman, Dr. Jeremy Anderson, Good Shepherd IV Therapy & Vange John Hospice for such compassionate care of him. Helen Noble, Jerita Belyea, Jody Lafferty & Families Interested in a Medical career? Need funds to complete your training? Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation medical scholarship applications are now being accepted from qualified local students through February 29th. The Foundation is again pleased to partner with Tualatin Imaging to offer additional scholarships for students who have expressed interest in pursuing a diagnostic imaging career Please call 541-667-3419 for further information Applications can be accessed online at www.gshealth.org/foundation/scholarships PET OF THE W EEK Buddy is looking for his forever home. He is approximately 13 years old and has really blossomed. He loves cuddling and rolling in his blanket. He’s a silly old man that LOVES attention. He does get jealous of other dogs when they get attention, however, he barely attempts to bite them at all, it’s actually pretty funny. He does have a weak back and his rear legs give out sometimes. MEET BUDDY Multi-State 80 Oregon Included No Fee Oregon Only $ 45 Valid 35-States, including Washington eomediagroup.com Follow us on Facebook! $ MULTI-STATE The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. they can have,” said Kirk Jacobson, Beef Northwest human resources manager and Columbia Works steer- ing committee member. Shaun Shaun Curtain Curtain 360-921-2071 360-921-2071 or or email: email: ShaunCurtain@gmail.com ShaunCurtain@gmail.com | www.ShaunCurtain.com.com | www.ShaunCurtain.com.com Councilor Jackie Myers said she believed it was important for the city to send a message about acces- sibility. Right now, she said, there are people in the com- munity who are hindered from conducting business, working at or serving in city hall. Councilor Roy Barron said he liked the idea of making the library a more attractive place in the pro- cess, and called city hall “the peoples’ house.” Mayor David Drotzmann questioned how the city would pay a 30-year debt obligation after the current enterprise zone agreements run out in 15 years, and said he worried about sticking a future generation of city leaders with a diffi cult debt burden. “We can always pay it off sooner, but that just doesn’t seem to happen very often in government,” he said. However, he supported the overall idea of a new city hall, saying it sent a state- ment to the outside world that Hermiston “means business and wants to be a player” in the state. City councilors plan to vote on the proposal for a new city hall during the Feb. 24 meeting. The survey on the city’s website remains active for the rest of the month, and Smith said the city would host a few public open houses on the topic, includ- ing one at 6 p.m. next Tues- day at the Hermiston Public Library. Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA Small and Large Animal Care Mon: 8-6 Tue - Fri: 8-5 Sat: 8-12 Emergency Service 541.567.1138 80489 Hwy 395 N Hermiston www.oregontrailvet.com PLACE YOUR AD HERE! Contact Audra at 541.564.4538 Today! If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application. If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838
